


let your heart hold fast

by tornhearts



Series: shirbert one-shots and drabbles [1]
Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, clueless gilbert, im not sorry, married, pregnant anne, sudden angst after so much fluff, theyre so in love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 11:26:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22136257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tornhearts/pseuds/tornhearts
Summary: for the first time in his medical career, Gilbert Blythe was clueless.
Relationships: Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley
Series: shirbert one-shots and drabbles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1593331
Comments: 2
Kudos: 139





	let your heart hold fast

**Author's Note:**

> ah my first anne with an e fanfic! i love them so much. i had to.
> 
> ( chapter title is the song Let Your Heart Hold Fast by Fort Atlantic)

for the first time in his medical career, Gilbert Blythe was completely clueless and just paced around the bed while his ever-beautiful wife screamed and shouted (in true Anne fashion) her head off.

"Gilbert Blythe, I hope you know how much I hate you right now!" She screeched as Marilla grimaced at how tight her hand was being held. Gilbert looked back and smirked.

"Don't you smile at me, Mr Blythe, unless you're willing to take this blasted baby out of me yourself." She retorted, and Gilbert backed away with his hands raised.

"You're doing brilliantly, my darling." He said. Anne just screamed more in response, and God did Gilbert truly want to take her pain from her and have it himself but that wasn't possible. He was glad that Mrs Lynde had had a lot of childbirth experience with her daughters and rushed to help Anne when she went into labour. It felt like hours since that moment, that _glorious_ feeling that soon they would have the epitome of their love- their first child. He thought of when Anne had first mentioned their children, in one of her letters to him while they were parted due to university, and how she imagined how they would look, their names, what they would do. He smiled at the thought. They were so young, then, so innocent. 

"Gilbert, you're about to become a father." Mrs Lynde warned, snapping him out of his dreams. He sped to Anne's side, holding her close to him, feeling her rapid heartbeat speed up as she pushed. He grasped her other hand, her fingers tightening around his palm _extremely_ tight, but he couldn't complain. He brushed her hair out her face, whispering sweet nothings into her ear, expressing how much he loved her and how proud he was. Suddenly, Anne let out a sigh of relief and strangled cries entered the room.

"Anne, Gilbert, you have a baby girl." Mrs Lynde announced, Marilla crying tears of happiness as Gilbert pulled Anne in for a gentle, soft kiss. Rachel placed the baby in Anne's arms, and Anne's eyes flooded.

"She's so small, so beautiful." She whispered to Gilbert.

"Can you believe we made her?" Gilbert replied, holding the tiny babe's hands in his.

"We'll leave you two alone," Marilla said gently, pulling Rachel with her.

"What shall we name you, little one?" Anne whispered, cooing at her daughter.

"Joy," Gilbert replied, out of the blue.

"Joy?" Anne questioned.

"Do you not agree? I think we should name her after what she brought us. What _you_ brought us, by giving her to us." He smiled, planting a kiss on his wife's forehead.

"You know, if you dare make me go through that again, the minister and I will be having some words." She threatened, producing a chuckle from Gilbert's throat.

"My dearest Anne, you can say it all you want but you haven't managed to survive a day without me." She scowled at him, but then turned her attention back to the bundle of happiness in her arms.

"Joy it is." She smiled.

* * *

Gilbert was filled with dread. Barely an hour after the birth of his daughter, Anne was taken ill. Dr Ward had warned Gilbert that she might not make it if it was what he suspected- but he wouldn't tell him what that was. Gilbert didn't know what was happening, he wasn't allowed in their bedroom - he felt so useless, being unable to help her. If he lost the love of his life, he didn't know if he could carry on. 

"Gilbert?" He turned around. only to find Marilla before him.

"Oh God, Marilla, is she okay?" He said hoarsely.

"Dr Ward said something about preeclampsia, but I don't know what that is. He's trying to keep her temperature down, but God, Gilbert, she's not okay. She's confused, she's gained so much weight but hasn't eaten a _thing,_ and honestly, I've never seen her so pale." She whispered. Gilbert sucked in a breath, willing himself not to cry. He simply couldn't leave her.

"I'm going in."

"Gilbert-" Marilla began, but it was too late. Gilbert burst through the door and ran to his wife's side, trying his best to soothe her and help her. He knew what preeclampsia was from being roommates with a midwife, and he knew there wasn't a cure unless it was caught extremely early. In his mind, he begged and prayed that whatever God was up there would save her for him.

"Gilbert," Anne whispered, "I can't wait to marry you." Now he understood why Marilla said she was confused. 

"Me too, my darling," He sighed in response, hating that she was in this state. "I love you so much, you know?" He replied, stroking her palm with his thumb.

"You say that a lot. But I love you more." She giggled softly.

"I don't think anyone could love anyone more than I love you, Anne-girl." He smiled weakly, pressing a light kiss to her nose. Her face was so hot from her temperature, he placed a wet cloth on her forehead in an attempt to cool her down.

"Gilbert, we need to do whatever we can to prevent her from having a seizure. A seizure means the end, I'm afraid." Dr Ward told him, and he only nodded in response.

"Sweetheart, I need you to breathe slowly and calmly, okay? To help you get better." He whispered in his wife's ear, fidgeting with the pearl ring on her finger from their wedding day. She tried her best to smile at him, but her sickness was getting worse and worse. 

"Do you remember the day I first kissed you, Anne-girl?" He smiled.

"I was wearing my best blue dress on my way to find you and tell you I loved you, but you came to me first."

"You were so ethereal that day. The second I saw you I knew you would be my whole life, the centre of my thoughts, always. I felt like I was floating." He chuckled, recalling the day.

"I was never so sure in my entire life that I was loved that day."

"It's a good job I promised to love you for the rest of mine so you never have to doubt it." He whispered, placing a gentle kiss on the back of her hand. Anne started to fall asleep and he sat there for what felt like years, hoping she would be okay. Just as the sun started to rise, Dr Ward approached him.

"She's going to be okay."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm honestly not sure if pre-eclampsia was curable back then, I only know about it from downton abbey (I'm not ashamed, I cried A LOT) but anyways, sorry for that heavy almost-death.


End file.
